‘VAR is a soul-destroying experience’- George Hirst appeals to referee Sam Barrott during Ipswich Town’s 1-0 defeat to Brentford in which VAR was a constant presence
Ipswich Town 0-1 Brentford: Terry Hunt on Blues and VAR
Portman Road is a pretty frustrating place for Ipswich fans at the moment. A record-breaking run of eight successive home league defeats tells its own miserable story.
Some of those losses have been by a wide margin. Arsenal, Spurs and Man City spring to mind. But there have also been times when we’ve ended up on the wrong side of a really tight affair.
The Brentford game was an example of that. In fact, I think we were unlucky to lose it. Given the rub of the green, we would have grabbed a point or perhaps more.
I really don’t like criticising referees, but I have no choice, the man in black on Saturday was atrocious. The game hinged on a few minutes of chaos and confusion when Brentford were allowed to retake a corner twice.
I’ll be honest, I am massively confused about exactly what happened. Maybe the officials got it right, maybe they didn’t. But what I do know is that the referee just didn’t look as though he had a grip of the situation.
That was the case so many times. Brentford are no strangers to the dark arts, and weren’t averse to cynically stopping Ipswich attacks. Surely a yellow card? Not for this referee, inexplicably.
The most farcical moment happened right in front of me when – yet again – players were jostling waiting for a set-piece to be delivered. Even though the ref had his back turned, he still booked a player from both teams. Absolutely farcical.
As for VAR, I agree wholeheartedly with Kieran McKenna. Instead of adding to the game, it is sucking the enjoyment out of it, especially for the paying customers at games.
Two or three times on Saturday, everything literally ground to a halt for what seemed an eternity while VAR dithered and dallied. For fans in the stadium, it is a soul-destroying experience, when you’re left twiddling your thumbs wondering what’s happening.
In cricket, DRS adds to the enjoyment. In football, VAR detracts. Surely it’s there to correct big mistakes by the ref, not to get into micro-detail about whether a striker is offside by the length of a toe? It really does need sorting out – or scrapping.
I thought Ipswich were genuinely unlucky not to get something from the match on Saturday. We certainly matched a team who are hoping to qualify for Europe.
Towards the end, we managed to build pressure, and we created some decent chances. That’s not happened nearly often enough this season.
Loanee Julio Enciso was outstanding, a real bundle of energy, trickery and invention.
He’s been our best player recently, which tells its own story. Our man of the match has been allowed out on loan by Brighton. What does that say about us compared to them? Frightening.
Two other outstanding performances came from Jacob Greaves and, late in the game, Omari Hutchinson. Greaves has taken to his new, enforced role as left-back like a duck to water. Dare I say we look more solid with a defensively-minded left-back?
I really hope we can keep Hutchinson, but I fear he will be on his way. Maybe to Brentford, if one of their big names leaves. He’s certainly good enough for the Premier League.
So, just two games left, both against poor sides. The game at Leicester is really a battle for 18th place. They look terrible, and I’m convinced we can beat them.
Then, we say goodbye to the Premier League – for the time being – with a visit from West Ham. Surely we can end this horror run at home against the struggling Hammers?
Two wins would be a confidence-boosting way to end the season for players and fans alike.
